Now It Is Your Turn: The Way of The Pack

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, they will say: we did it ourselves.   

— Lao Tzu

https://www.amazon.com/Brenda-M.-Negri/e/B07HGDXZH2?ref_=pe_1724030_132998060 

The Way of The Pack.  It is a holistic, kinder, spiritual, intelligent and compassionate path for shepherds using LGDs to effect co-existence with predators, and, by keeping livestock safe using non-lethal means, help restore and keep balance in nature. It is not an easy way, nor is it for everyone, yet anyone can traverse it. I want to show you this way that has worked for me, my dogs, and my customers and their dogs, for many years. 

There is a good chance the reason this book is in your hands is that you recently purchased your first Livestock Guardian Dog, or are thinking of getting one, or have one or two or more, and want help understanding and training them. It is my hope that this book will lay out much needed practical advice based on compassion, trust, patience, consistency and respect based on my experience.

Livestock Guardian Dog use in the United States has been relatively recent, only roughly 35-40 years. Bred and used for centuries all over the world as flock and herd guardians against predation, now, the popularity of these ancient guardian breeds has exploded in North America. Not only do they protect livestock on large scale commercial, open range sheep, cattle and goat operations running on public lands and forest areas, they have become an increasingly common fixture on small boutique and family hobby farms, homesteads, off the grid farmsteads, and family ranches. Besides their traditional fare of sheep, cattle and goats, they guard everything from chickens to pigs; alpacas to horses. They serve as therapy dogs, service dogs and certified emergency response canines and many have crossed over into the pet and companion sector. In America, LGDs have become a huge fad. Unfortunately, due to this rapid growth in popularity, they have also become one of the most misunderstood, misused and often abused groups of dogs in this country. 

Why do such a high percentage of Livestock Guardian Dog and owner working relationships fail in America? Why are so many Livestock Guardian Dogs showing up in rescues, rehoming situations and shelters across the country? Why are Internet and Facebook Livestock Guardian Dog forums and online support groups overflowing with owners bemoaning one LGD ownership, training and/or use problem after another? 

I can tell you: most of the problems with LGDs are the fault of the owner. Human error, a total disconnect from the dogs and their livestock, lazy shepherding, relying on bad information has turned these dogs into disposable tools. That is not the right way.  

In their countries of origin, LGD breeds are typically handled and treated as family members who live 24/7 with the shepherd and their flocks as they transgress miles over open, unfenced terrain in what is known as transhumance. It is a centuries old cyclical, seasonal pastoral lifestyle where shepherd, flock, guardian dog, predators and nature are all part of a natural cycle of birth, life and death. It is ancient and spiritual at the core. Predators are a threat, yes, but also recognized as necessary in the scheme of things, hence the successful use of these dogs for eons as non-lethal means of protecting stock. 

It is also why you won’t find shepherds in Spain, Italy or France driving around with “SSS” (Shoot, Shovel, Shut Up) or “Smoke a Pack a Day” stickers on their vehicles.

In America however, we as a whole do not practice transhumance. And a frightening percentage of stockmen not only practice lethal control, they practically live for it, with a hatred of wolves and coyotes that borders on obsession. With the exception of large commercial operations running full-time herders living with their flocks, most LGDs are run under fence. They have to be, or they’ll roam off their property. But in using them this way, the American LGD user, in making his farming efforts and life easier, misses out on something: something big. They miss out on the true essence of the pastoral life. Romanian transhumance and human/predator co-existence researcher and photographer Paul White writes:

Many farmers in the west do not want the discomfort of living with their sheep in unfenced predator country and often rely too heavily on their dogs working alone and hoping they make the right decisions. This is unfair on the dogs and the sheep and can lead to livestock depredation very quickly. This can provoke calls for wolf and bear culls and disappointment in dogs which sometimes leads to abandonment. Shepherds in Transylvania are on the ground 24/7 and know their dogs intimately. They can mix and match the pack at any given time through the day depending on situations and problems as they occur. A sick or lame dog can be cared for at the camp whilst another dog is moved in to maintain the deterrent. If a wolf or bear runs into the flock, the deterrent is much more effective with shepherds and dogs working together. It must also be emphasized that a good LGD is a non-lethal deterrent. Their job is to protect but not to kill the predator.

In America, on large commercial sheep and goat operations, producers hire herders from other countries to do the lowly paid seasonal work keeping flocks moving through vast deeded and allotted lands. They move over vast, open range for months. It is the herder who lives full time with the sheep in a camp wagon and sees the Milky Way at night, not the owner; it is the H2A herder who connects with and forms a relationship with the livestock and the herding and guardian dogs, feeding them, caring for them and moving them; not the owner. How sad it has come to this.

But even smaller American hobby farm and self-sustaining operations have lost connection, or perhaps never cultivated it to begin with. Their owners may be present, but their LGDs often live in forced semi-solitary confinement, 24/7 with livestock, enclosed under fence often in extremely cramped spaces. In too many instances, the owner is gone from the hobby farm for eight hours a day or more to a town job that financially floats the hobby farm or supposed “self-sustaining” homestead. They are gone, not there. They don’t see what is happening. In turn, their guardian dogs, left alone all day, become frustrated, bored, and depressed. They try to escape – and typically succeed. From a Facebook post:

We see these guardian dogs all the time on our local lost and found pet pages. Somebody has either lost one, or somebody has found one. They go wandering when they have a spare moment.

In terms of using LGDs pursuant to their historical use, many Americans are trying to force a round peg into a square hole. Unlike Old World shepherds living with their livestock and dogs, Americans keep the LGDs – and subsequently their livestock – at arm’s length. It is wrong, and the root cause of most problems with these dogs. 

This misfire came about for a reason. In the 1970’s, when researchers brought over Livestock Guardian Dogs to America and placed them with sheep operations, instead of interacting regularly with the dogs, they wrongly advocated minimal human handling, claiming it would negatively impact the dog’s ability and instincts to guard livestock. The late researcher Ray Coppinger spearheaded this theory. He advanced the “hands off” rearing that promoted plopping a pup in a pen with sheep, and leaving it alone – for weeks. French LGD breeder, trainer and published author, Mathieu Mauries observed this about Coppinger’s methodology with LGDs:

Indeed, 25 years after the return of the wolf the situation of protection dogs in France is catastrophic. The method developed by Ray Coppinger, which consists in isolating very young puppies in a herd with little or no contact with humans for themselves claiming to promote their attachment to animals is an aberration. The basic needs of puppies (game, protection and education by adult dogs) have been totally ignored leading to dramatic situations where dogs have often been charged with a bullet in the head. The problems posed by dogs that have been given this type of education are innumerable, particularly with regard to consumers of nature who travel our mountains..(my dogs) are companions and not tools like the method, unfortunately worldwide, (promoted) by R. Coppinger. I cannot pay any tribute to this person who has poisoned the world of protection dogs with a so-called science.

In the summer of 2018 I was contacted by a gentleman who had worked with Ray and Lorna Coppinger and LGDs. His E-mails in part said:

“You are right on target. In the past I worked with guardian dogs, and made sure to always heavily socialize puppies. Socialized guardians tended to be more responsive, more balanced, (and) answerable to confront (the) unpredictable. Regarding Ray and Lorna (Coppinger,) I worked very closely with them. They were quite receptive to my way of handling my dogs. They did recommend more than one dog when it was a matter of predators like wolves. We are going back several years, but they did grow with their research. 

I just want to say that you are doing a great job educating ranchers and farmers in how to develop the best relationship with their guardian dogs. These dogs do perform better when they are socialized as puppies. Ray and Lorna were very attuned to my methodology in socializing puppies. They grew into their research. What they did that was important is blow away the myth that herding dogs chased livestock. I no longer raise sheep but was very much taken with your wisdom and knowledge. Some people simply refuse to train or understand dogs. 

I raised sheep and dogs to guard then years ago when I lived in New Hampshire…I live in the Berkshires in MA. Ray and Lorna also had their problems trying to educate some ranchers and farmers. They used to tell me that some livestock growers would keep the puppies too much in the house. They would not get enough exposure to livestock…Ray and Lorna learned a lot more over the years. I truly believe that sheep growers are very lucky to have you. You made a very good point in your video that each ranch has its own set of challenges, and it is very important to select the appropriate breed for the job. When I was out west I could not help but see the difference between the wide open range and our smaller fenced acres in New England. I look forward to reading your book.”  — AY

Unfortunately novice American hobby farmers and homesteaders eagerly followed Coppinger’s lead. Owners soon discovered how easily these dogs bonded to livestock and how naturally they performed their guardian duties, as if they were on autopilot. Of course the dogs bonded to the livestock: isolated with no human interaction, they had nothing else to bond to, and this “bonding” was typically done under forced if not extreme conditions. Operators looking for ways to cut work soon saw using the dogs as a way to lessen their own presence and time in the livestock, thus furthering the detachment from nature and animals. Let the dogs do it all. Just trap and shoot all the predators. Thus born of ignorance, the disconnected Lazy Shepherd came about and flourishes now, in America. 

Farming and ranching is not for lazy people who won’t invest themselves into it as a passion, or from the heart. Too many American LGD owners do not spend adequate time with their LGDs. They do not take time to train and observe and understand their dogs, and then the problems begin. Owners afraid to trust their dogs’ instinct try to micro-control their LGDs by managing their every move using ridiculous training devices, creating more problems than they solve. They “farm from Facebook” and that is why they fail.

Similar with many other domestic dog breeds that became too popular, too fast, LGD breeds’ sudden fame in America has come at an ugly price. Their use here is often shallow, empty and lacking in a productive connection.

In recent years, many LGD owners have voiced concerns to me over the detached “hands off” way of rearing and using LGDs prescribed by early researchers in America. They are searching for a different way that allows them to connect with these dogs in a way similar in their native countries – recognizing they thrive on and require a degree of human interaction, trust and respect - instead of a cold shoulder. Many people have expressed to me that they recognize and respect the dog’s emotional and spiritual aspects as well. This gives me great hope. 

Success with these dogs using a more holistic, compassionate method: The Way of The Pack can be lived and practiced by anyone. Imagine using responsible, humane training and rearing practices with an LGD so that challenges and issues can be greatly curtailed with humane solutions. Imagine being able to enable a more successful and fulfilling use of these dogs. By becoming a participant instead of a spectator, the training, use and understanding methods detailed in this book, can be your LGD experience. 

As the old Zen proverb says, your mind is like a cup: when it is full and overflowing, you can’t take in new information or learn. There is a kinder and more respectful and effective way to use, live with and train LGDs, and this book will show you how. 

It is time to empty your cup and fill it with The Way of The Pack.